Vasso Papandreou, a pioneering Greek politician known for her impactful roles as a government minister and European commissioner, has passed away at the age of 79. She died at her home in an Athens suburb, following several years of declining health.
Her funeral took place on Saturday near her birthplace in southern Greece, outside Aegio, with notable attendees including former Socialist Prime Minister Costas Simitis and various experienced politicians from across the political spectrum.
Across party lines, political leaders paid their respects to Papandreou after her death on Thursday. They acknowledged her immense contributions to Greek society and her unwavering commitment to social justice. “Despite our differences, I must recognize she was an exceptional individual who garnered the loyalty of her supporters and the respect of her rivals,” stated conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Born on December 9, 1944, Papandreou earned her economics degree in Athens before obtaining a Ph.D. from the University of Reading in the UK. She initially pursued an academic career before entering the political arena as Greece emerged from a seven-year military dictatorship.
Papandreou played a crucial role in founding the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) in 1974, despite not being related to its founder, Andreas Papandreou. Their brief romantic relationship in the mid-1970s ultimately led her to the UK for further studies.
From 1996 to 2004, she held various ministerial roles under Costas Simitis’s governments, including positions as the Minister of Economic Development, Minister of the Interior, and Minister for the Environment, Physical Planning, and Public Works.
As Greece’s first female European Commissioner from 1989 to 1992, Papandreou was distinguished for her leadership in employment, industrial relations, and social affairs. She was also widely respected for her advocacy of democratic rights.
A strong proponent of women’s representation in politics, Papandreou championed laws that mandated a minimum of 33% female representation on candidate lists, beginning with municipal elections in 2002. Her efforts laid the groundwork for greater gender equality in Greek politics.
Throughout her career, Papandreou was a vocal advocate for workers’ rights, educational access, and support for parents and individuals with special needs. She served six consecutive terms in the Greek Parliament from 1993 to 2009. During her first election, she was unexpectedly moved to a larger constituency, where she achieved a record-breaking 256,831 preference votes, many from female supporters of PASOK expressing their dissatisfaction with the party leadership.
In late 1994, she and three colleagues, including Simitis, formed a faction known as “the Group of Four” to encourage the ailing Andreas Papandreou to retire. They met frequently at her home to strategize, and in 1996, following a decline in his health, Andreas stepped down, paving the way for Simitis to take over as Prime Minister and party leader.
